Philip Hensher

Dedicated to debauchery: the life of Thom Gunn

Even the most liberal-minded reader might be surprised by the amount of crack cocaine, LSD, alcohol and casual sex the poet indulged over the course of 50 years

Thom Gunn, San Francisco, 1996, photographed by Chris Felver. [Bridgeman Images]
  • Comments

  • Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life

    Michael Nott

    Faber, pp. 720, £25

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe today to get 3 months' delivery of the magazine, as well as online and app access, for only £3.

  • Weekly delivery of the magazine
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Patrick O’Flynn

Keir Starmer is caving on immigration already

Patrick O'Flynn
It should come as no surprise that Keir Starmer has already contracted a severe dose of Boris Johnson disease when it comes to immigration policy. This occurs when a prime minister has a general commitment to bring down the overall volume of inward migration and yet makes so many specific exceptions that such an outcome

Because you read about biography

Also by Philip Hensher

Latest

Comments

Want to join the debate?

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first 3 months for just £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in